All I Want For Christmas
by LillixRose
Summary: All I want for Christmas is you. NCIS plays Secret Santa and someone's going to get a little romance for the festive season!
1. On The First Day Of Christmas

"…and please remember, these speakers are paid great amounts of money to come here to lecture you on inter-agency dealings. Therefore I see no reason why each and every one of you should not attend"

Jenny's eyes scanned the room of NCIS agents in front of her. She could think of at least one person here who could do with a lesson in diplomacy.

"I'd come if they gave us a talk on sexual relations" came a voice from the wise-ass at the back of the room.

A titter of laughter rippled round the collection of agents, but was quelled by a single glare from Jenny. She did not appreciate wise cracks when she was trying to run a meeting.

"I'm glad you found an opportunity to express your views on the matter, Agent DiNozzo" she said sagely, flipping over the page of her notebook. "But that is not high on the Agency's list of priorities, and in future I would prefer it if you kept your own sexual inadequacy out of these meetings"

Another titter of laughter, as Tony sat back, abashed and Jenny allowed herself a smile before continuing.

"Now then, as I'm sure you are aware, the Christmas season is nearly upon us…" she paused, and an audible groan could be heard from the front row.

"Are you attempting an impression of the Grinch, Agent Gibbs" Jenny asked, with a slight smirk "or is that just your natural reaction to the word 'Christmas.'"

The agent in front of her was wearing the sulkiest face she had ever seen on anyone over the age of 17.

"Not all, Director" he said with mock politeness, "But the Annual NCIS Christmas Sing-Along doesn't appeal to everyone, you know"

"And why not Agent Gibbs?" Jenny asked, with an edge to her voice "Everyone loves to sing, don't they, especially at Christmas"

"I'm not disputing that, Director." light sarcasm dripped from his voice "I'm pointing out that _listening_ to that noise could be used as an an innovative interrogation technique."

Jenny's cheeks flushed a delicate shade of red as she shot him her best "don't-mess-with-me" look.

"Well, Agent Gibbs," she said, attempting to regain her composure, "You'll be pleased to hear that this year, we have decided to have a little break with tradition"

"This year, we have decided to hold an NCIS Secret Santa"

Chatter broke out amongst the agents. Only Gibbs remained unmoved, a look of complete disgust on his face. Jenny thought she distinctly heard him mutter something which sounded suspiciously like "crappy idea", but decided to rise above it, and ignore him.

"Calm down please!" she surveyed the agents, pleased that they had all taken to the idea. Well, most of them anyway.

"The name of every agent in the Agency is in this basket. Everybody will take one slip of paper from the basket, on which will be written the name of the person that you will be acting as Secret Santa for. This is compulsory." She looked at Gibbs, "Even for the Grinch"

"You have five days, starting from tomorrow, and the game will culminate in a Christmas party next Friday, when you can reveal yourself to your Secret Santa." She smiled brightly "Oh, and please don't tell anyone who you have. We don't want to ruin the fun, do we?"

As a matter of course, Tony and Ziva had sat at the back of the lecture hall for the duration of Jenny's speech, and had spent the majority of it whispering amongst themselves, like little kids at the back of a classroom.

The basket of names reached them last, and as Ziva unfolded a piece of paper, she caught sight of Tony looking surreptitously over at the name.

"Tony! I do not appreciate you trying to pull a Mission Unfeasible over my shoulder. It is supposed to be a secret." she shook her head disapprovingly, "something which you apparently have no concept of"

"It's Mission _Impossible _Zeev-ah. Plus, if you're going to compare me to a spy-film, I'd like to think that I'm more of a "_Secret Agent",_ kind of guy"

The Mossad officer replied with a glare, and Tony felt it was probably best not to push the point any further.

"Aww relax. You're no fun" he pouted like a sulky child, as he picked a name out of the basket.

Ziva shrugged, a small smile on her face.

"Who do you think has our names," Tony wondered aloud, as they both stood and headed for the door.

"I do not know, Tony, and I do not wish to know until next Friday. So if you dare tell me…" she trailed off threateningly, and Tony was reminded forcibly of the fact that she knew 18 ways to kill someone using a paper clip.

"Suit yourself," he shrugged "I wonder who I can bribe to tell me who my Secret Santa is."

Ziva threw him an admonishing look, which Tony completely missed, and looked down at the tiny slip of paper. Opening it with trembling hands, on the inside it simply said two words:

_Timothy McGee_

"That's good," she thought to herself. "Timmy's a nice guy."

But she couldn't stop the frisson of disappointment that ran through her body.

**A/N Just a little Christmas something. TBC :) Please review! I will love you forever :]**

**Loveee, ****Lilli xxx**


	2. A Christmas Like No Other

**Secret Santa**

Jenny had always loved Christmas. Even when she was a little girl, sitting on her father's shoulders to place the angel on the top of the Christmas tree, she had sensed the sheer magic of the festivities.

But it was difficult to say what had captured little Jenny's imagination. She had never believed in Santa Claus, thinking that the whole idea was completely ridiculous (even at four years old, Jenny had been a cynic), and presents had never been high on her list of priorities.

She supposed now, that it was mostly just the sense of the day being special, spending precious time with her Mom and her Dad, feeling loved and happy.

Admittedly, the festivities had trailed off somewhat after her mom died, and her Dad had retreated into his dark, private world. But even then, the memories and feelings of hope that Christmas brought had always remained, and so, for Jenny, the season had retained its magic.

And even now, thirty something years later, she still felt a tingle of excitement run up her spine at the thought of the approaching season.

Plus, there was something undeniably exciting about a game of Secret Santa.

Although, it was true that remaining anonymous in a building full of federal agents, each as nosy as each other, could prove to be quite a challenge. But what the heck? She'd always been a sucker for a challenge.

Jenny smiled to herself as she unfolded the piece of paper she had picked from the basket.

_Andrew Sunnyvale_

_Crap,_ she thought, frowning at the piece of paper in front of her.

_Who the hell is Andrew Sunnyvale? And what sort of crap name is Sunnyvale anyway?_

Her forehead creased as her frown deepened, trying to match a face to the name and coming up empty. Honestly, you think that she knew almost every agent in this place, being the Director and all. But Andrew Sunnyvale had completely stumped her.

_What do you get the anonymous person for a Secret Santa present?_

This was going to be a hell of a lot harder than she thought.

Sighing, she crumpled the paper into a ball and aimed it at the nearest wastepaper bin.

_Shot! _She gloated inwardly, before turning back to the small mountain of paper work that was slowly accumulating on her desk. It was times like these when she regretted ever having taken the post of Director. Too much admin, paperwork and politics.

She smiled wearily.

_I'm beginning to sound as jaded as Jethro_, she thought. _God help me, I'm turning into the Grinch himself_

Gibbs had never really been one for Christmas. Sure, he enjoyed a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie as much as the next man, but he wasn't buying into the whole mistletoe, Santa Claus, turkey shebang.

Mostly because the experience was too painful.

The whole season brought memories of Shannon and Kelly flooding back, breaking through his carefully constructed defences. It didn't help that Christmas had been Kelly's favourite time of year. She had loved everything about it.

_Magical_, she called it. Especially the snow.

He could almost hear her voice now, feel her soft breath against his ear as she whispered to him

"_It turns the whole world white. Daddy. Like a magical kingdom!" _She giggled, as he tickled her gently.

"_Then I guess that makes you the princess, Kelly"_

God, he missed them.

And that was why, for the last twenty years, come Christmas Day; Leroy Jethro Gibbs was to be found in his basement. Alone with his boat and a bottle of bourbon, pretending that this was the why he liked it.

It was also the reason why he had sat, head in hands, for most of the meeting, much to Jenny's annoyance.

Secret Santa. Great. Just bloody brilliant.

He was very aware that he was only a thin line, and a slip of the tongue away from saying "bah humbug", and before he knew it, he'd be visited by the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future.

Well wouldn't that be a barrel of laughs.

And yet, under Jenny's steely glare, he had reluctantly plucked a name from the basket.

Unfolding it, and cursing the stupid idea under his breath, he read the name;

_Jennifer Sheppard_

He groaned softly. And just what the hell was he supposed to buy his former probie, turned partner, turned lover, who was now his boss?

He rolled his eyes heavenward.

_Someone up there must really hate me,_ he thought

Technically speaking, Ziva didn't celebrate Christmas. She just hadn't been brought up to observe the festival, and she saw no reason to begin now.

Although she also saw no reason to mention technicalities when a Christmas game was involved. Especially one which allowed her to let out a bit of her more mischievous side.

But whatever glee she felt about a festive game quickly dissipated under the weight of the rest of the day. She and Tony had driven for over an hour to interview a witness who was in fact, completely useless and unable to remember even the tiniest detail, not matter how hard she and Tony pressed her.

And then, just to add insult to injury, the futility of their trip had been highlighted by a cold, steady rain that had begun moments after they pulled out of the NCIS parking lot, and continued for most of the day.

However, the final straw for Ziva came in the form of the receptionist who accosted her in the lobby of the NCIS building, wanting to know if she would deign to be part of the Christmas Party Organizing Committee.

Needless to say, Ziva did _not _want to take part in any such committee, but the irritating woman refused to take no for an answer. Thus, the incident ended with a crowd of around 15 watching the poor receptionist cower in terror as Ziva threatened her with the 23 different ways that she could kill her right here and now with a stapler.

And so, by the time Ziva made her way upstairs to the bullpen Tony was on his way out. Ziva glared at him, as he winked smugly. If looks could kill, DiNozzo would be ten feet under.

Wanting nothing more than to go home, have a hot shower, and crawl into bed, Ziva tossed her backpack down by her desk.

And then she saw it.

On her desk, in purple wrapping paper tied with a silver ribbon sat a small present. Ziva stared at it for a second, thinking the mailman must have made some kind of mistake. Then it slowly began to dawn on her, and she smiled.

It looked like her Secret Santa had been busy.

And it looked like her day had just got a whole lot better.

Later, sitting in her little flat, bathed in the glow of the lights from her modest Christmas tree, she stared at the parcel sitting at the table in front of her. Since she got home, she had been trying to convince herself that she should at least wait until tomorrow to open it. After all, Secret Santa didn't officially begin until tomorrow.

But right now, curiosity seemed to be winning out over willpower – a rare occurrence for Ziva David.

Suddenly she could stand it no longer and she leaned forward and picked up the parcel, ripping away the shiny wrapping paper.

Inside, lay a small, distinctive gold box, that she immediately recognized as having come from _Hotel Chocolat. _

Smiling slightly, she picked up the card that lay on the top, and she could have sworn she felt her heart skip a beat.

_Ziva,_

_Our life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,_

_But by the number of moments which take our breath away._

_You take my breath away every single day._

_Love,_

_SS_

Ziva blushed. New as she might be to Christmas traditions, she was pretty certain that this was no ordinary Secret Santa present.

And something told her this was going to be no ordinary Christmas.

**A/N: I am SO sorry for the long wait. I planned to get this up sooner, because its been typed up on my ipod for ages. But life, and GCSEs got in the way. So, 13 days after Christmas, I give you CHAPTER 2! Hope you're all still feeling Christmassy. Thank you for all the reviews, and the story/author alerts – I will reply to reviews personally when I have time, but I read them and they all make me so happy!**

**So please keep reviewing because it's what keeps me writing!**

**Love y'all. Hope you had great Christmases and happy 2011! How weird does that sound?**

**Lilli**

**xx!**


	3. Christmas Angels and Smoothies

To say it had been a hard day would be something of an understatement. Jenny had been drowning under paperwork, conferences and case files for the best part of the day. Now, she leaned back in her chair, removed her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes. She didn't quite know what had possessed all of the marines in Washington DC to suddenly tap into their inner murderer or hard-drug user. Nor did she understand why SecNav had decided today, of all days to inform her that NCIS's funding was to be cut by 10% in the next two months.

But what she did know was that right now she would sell her soul to be able to go home, sink into a warm bubble bath and sleep for hours.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, she realized with a jolt that it was almost 23:00. And the pile of paperwork looked _exactly _the same size that it had three hours ago. In frustration, she decided to call it a day and began to pack up her bag, shoving a few case files into the briefcase for good measure. Just in case she got a sudden fiery urge to work.

Well you never know; miracles have happened.

Locking the door to the office, she waved goodbye to her ever-loyal secretary who, bless her, was still here, typing up the final draft of the letter that was to be sent to the CIA tomorrow.

"Night, Cynthia" she said, stifling a yawn

"Night, Director" Cynthia smiled "Oh, and before I forget, someone dropped this off for you earlier" She reached behind the desk and produced a delicate gold package, beautifully wrapped with silver ribbon.

Jenny stared at it. Secret Santa? Already? But surely there hadn't been enough time?

"Thank you" she said softly

"Welcome, ma'am" she said "though it's not me you should be thanking, it was Age…oh!" She broke of suddenly, clapping a hand over her mouth

"Well, never mind" she finished lamely and Jenny smiled. She was far too tired to interrogate Cynthia about her Secret Santa. That would have to wait until tomorrow.

"See you Cynthia," she said "Don't work too late"

Filled with anticipation at the little gold package she clutched in her hand, Jenny knew she couldn't wait to get home to open it. Patience had never been one of her virtues.

And so, in the back of the car as they travelled home, she untied the silver ribbon and undid the gold wrapping carefully, savouring the moment. As she looked at what lay inside, her heart gave a slight jolt.

She was looking at a beautiful Christmas angel, hand crafted from wood, and dressed in an exquisitely detailed silver skirt sprinkled with sequins that seemed to dance and catch the light. Her face was as perfect as could be, each feature lovingly crafted, and her lips seemed to be lifted slightly at the corners, as if she was smiling at a private joke.

Tears sprang to her eyes, blurring the present into a haze of silver. Hastily, she brushed away the tears that were spilling over.

"Stupid," she muttered to herself "stupid to get so worked up over a Christmas present,"

But she couldn't take her eyes of the angel, nestled in gold wrapping paper. Only someone who knew her incredibly well would give her a gift so personal. A gift that, surely they must've known, would bring back hauntingly beautiful memories of happier times.

It was a frightening thought. Used as she was to keeping her emotions under wraps, it was more than slightly unnerving to think that someone had seen through the solid façade to read the thoughts and feelings she tried to subdue. And yet, it was almost a comfort to think that somewhere, there was someone she wasn't fooling, someone she could let her guard down around, and just be herself.

If only she knew who it was.

* * *

As she drove to work the next morning, at breakneck speed as per usual, Ziva was still turning over in her mind the matter of the mysterious gift, and more specifically, the card that she had received the day before. After due consideration, she had decided that dusting for fingerprints might be a slight overkill. Besides, she would have serious trouble explaining to Tony and McGee why exactly she was having her mail processed for evidence.

So, much to her annoyance, she was no closer to guessing the identity of her secret admirer than she had been yesterday. It was frustrating beyond belief, but like it or not, until the Christmas party, she was completely in the dark. Ziva had always had an insatiable appetite for curiosity, and if there was one thing she _hated _more than anything else, it was secrets being kept from her.

And she was sure that her Secret Santa would enjoy taunting her.

Ziva felt a thrill of excitement as she reached NCIS, and parked her car haphazardly in the parking lot, taking up 3 spaces, much to the annoyance of the other agents. But she was in far too much of a hurry to care. Practically sprinting up the stairs, deciding that it would take _far_ too long to wait for the elevator, she headed straight for the bullpen, ignoring any attempts to catch her attention.

But when she finally reached her desk, she felt her heart plummet.

There was nothing there.

In desperation, she pushed the various pens, pencils and pieces of paper aside, as if searching for something hidden underneath. Everything was exactly as it should be, but there was nothing from her secret admirer.

"Alright Ziva?" Tony greeted her. But she barely heard him.

She felt completely exhausted, as if all her energy had left her body in a sudden rush, leaving her drained and tired, despite the fact that it wasn't yet 9 o'clock in the morning.

But she should have known better by now than to get her hopes up, to trust someone that she didn't know would let her down. Ziva's entire life had taught her that life deals you nothing but disappointment and a bad hand of cards. But in the excitement of Christmas she'd forgotten just how sharp the pain of bitter let down can be.

And she was embarrassed too, mortified as she realised just how foolish she had been. It was Secret Santa. A Christmas game, that people played because they were bored and it provided a welcome distraction from work. It didn't really mean anything. Not to anyone, and she should _never _have let herself believe that it did.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, gathering herself together, Ziva summoned all of her remaining energy to try and put on a mask of contentment.

Tony appeared behind her

"Berry Mango Madness?" he asked, proffering forward a takeaway cup of purple liquid, "Although, I don't know how you drink that stuff in this weather"

Lost in her own thoughts, Ziva jumped a mile at his voice.

"Jheez! Tony, you scared me!"

"That's a first," he smirked "Normally it's you sneaking around like a ninja, terrifying the living daylights out of people

"I do not _terrify _people, Tony," she corrected, "Mostly, it is their own fault."

He raises an eyebrow at her in disbelief. "I think the poor receptionist downstairs would have something to say about that. Woman's probably going to need intensive therapy now to overcome the _emotional trauma_ you inflicted on her"

She snorted, and took the smoothie from him

"You brought me a drink?" she questioned, changing the subject quickly

"Yeah? Why not? You looked like you could use a little something to start your day"

"Hmmm," she eyed him suspiciously before taking a long sip of the smoothie and sighing in satisfaction.

"Thank you Tony," she said

"Welcome sweetcheeks," he said winking, "Don't get used to it,"

She stared after him as he sauntered back to his desk. Not only was it unusually sensitive of Tony to buy her a drink, but she could not recall ever telling him that her all-time favourite flavour was Berry Mango Madness. Unless it had just been a lucky guess?

She was just about to question him when she heard a gruff voice behind her, and for the second time in less than ten minutes, she jumped a mile in fright.

"Gear up," Gibbs said, and Ziva registered in shock that the boss was _smiling. _She couldn't recall Gibbs smiling at the thought of a crime scene since…well, ever.

Tony, of course, would think that Gibbs had got laid, or would come up with an equally crude expression to the same effect. But Ziva was far more inclined to think that the smile might have a lot more to do with a certain fiery redheaded director. Especially since Gibbs had gone into Jenny's study twice in the past two days, not unusual in itself, but both times, clutching a gold package.

The man was the epitome of unsubtle. Ziva wouldn't be surprised if Jenny had already guessed who her Secret Santa was.

Ziva sighed, picking up her backpack. She had barely had time to start her smoothie.

"No rest for the wicked, huh?" Tony muttered as he passed her

Ziva stared after him in bewilderment, completely thrown by the idiom.

"He means, Ziva, that it's time to get to work" she heard Gibbs' voice behind her, and felt a hard hand on the back of her head.

"Yes, boss" she said automatically, and shook any thoughts of Tony, Gibbs and her Secret Santa out of her head.

It had not, all things considered, been a bad day so far. She had worked steadily all day, throwing herself into the comforting routine of the investigation, interviewing suspects, and photographing crime scenes. The soothing rhythm of work had gone a long way to lulling her into a sense of security, almost making her forget the crushing blow that she'd received that morning. And, just to top things off, the dead marine had been an open and shut case of a drug deal gone wrong, and the team had been back to the bullpen by lunch for the first time in weeks.

Christmas, Ziva had noticed, changed people. She surveyed her colleagues. Tony was looking more relaxed than he had done in months, McGee was laughing at Tony's jokes, despite being the butt of most of them. And even Gibbs, she observed, was cracking a smile as he bit into his double whopper cheeseburger.

If this was what Christmas did to people, she was sure she could live without getting a present.

After all, she'd hardly been the best Secret Santa to Tim. After long consideration, she had given him a box of chocolates, and a miniature elf lord model she'd found on . She smiled, thinking of Tim's face when he had opened the present.

"_Looks like your dirty little secret's out McGee," she had said wryly. _

But despite Tony's guffaws, he had seemed to like it.

Some things, she would never understand.

So absorbed was Ziva in her own thoughts that she failed to notice the commotion from the front of the room. Nor did she notice the three delivery men, each with their arms full of what seemed to be floral arrangements, covered in white paper to keep them from the cold, until they reached the bullpen.

"Delivery for Miss Ziva David?"

She gave a start

"Yes? That is me"

"Need you to sign for these."

She blushed a fiery red. All eyes followed her as she stood to sign for the flowers.

"Ziva's got a boyfriend," Tony smirked, lounging in his desk chair

Signing the clipboard with her right hand, she raised her left, and Tony only laughed out loud when he caught sight of the obscene gesture she had thrown his way.

The roses were placed on her desk, all three bouquets until the paperwork was buried under a sea of red. She pulled back the paper to get a better look at the arrangement.

The roses glowed brightly, dew drops sparkling against the dark green holly leaves that surrounded them. And laced throughout each bouquet were several, luminous white winter roses.

They were beautiful; there was no other word to describe them. And tucked inside one of the bouquets was a note, printed onto a small white card. It read simply,

_I will make thee a bed of roses and  
A thousand fragrant posies_

She did not recognize the verse, but the beauty of the words stirred something deep inside her, and for the second time in as many days, she felt tears prickle in her eyelids.

"Whose the admirer, Ziva?" she heard McGee call from across the room, and she felt the team's eyes boring into her.

"I don't know," she said softly, "I don't know"

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know! It's almost February! But I absolutely _promise_ this will be finished by the 31st January. So, I hope you're all still feeling a bit Christmassy :) Please, _please _review :] Honestly, I can't tell you how happy getting that e-mail makes me :]**

**Lilli  
****xx**


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